Flowers of fragrance Bloom in the light; Fall like the snowflakes Showering white.

Orchards of heaven Grow with a grace,

And like a blessing Perfume the place.

Each tree in blossom, Each lovely spray,

In this month of Our Lady, Bring glory to May.

– Helen Maring The Magnificat. Volume LXVIII. Number 1. May 1941.

High school athletes in San Juan County begin the march to sports glory this week with the state championships in track, baseball, and softball up for grabs. Athletes on the track begin with the annual BYU Invitational, the biggest meet of the year, which is followed quickly by region meets and the state meet at BYU.

San Juan looks to contend in both boys and girls track in 2A with large teams. Last weekend, SJ boys placed fifth out of 16 teams at the Nyle Norris Invitational in Richfield and second among 2A schools.

Ammon Mitchell took second in the 110 hurdles, as did Max Morley in the 400. Brittain Bowring was third in the high jump and Mike Monson fourth in the shot put.

San Juan girls were eighth out of 14 teams and third among 2A schools. McKale Simpson was third in the 100 hurdles and fourth in the long jump. Sara Morley was fourth in the shot put. Samantha Giddings was fourth in the discus and fifth in the shot put and Jenny Sherrow was sixth in the javelin.

Monticello boys and girls both finished 11th at Richfield. Kaitlin Clark was fourth in the 100 hurdles and fifth in the 300 hurdles. Makayla Leiataua was sixth in the discus. Her brother PJ was fifth in the discus and sixth in shot put.

Former Buckaroo, Lance Allen, was third in the 110 hurdles for the hometown Richfield Wildcats.

Softball newsSan Juan softball completed the biggest week of the year with 10 games, including eight at the annual Swing for Life Tournament in Salt Lake Valley.

The Lady Broncos started the week of with a dominating 13-0 win over region rival Grand. Justin Hutchins left the park twice against the Red Devils and Tatianna Sue’Sue added another homer.

On Thursday, the Broncos bats were silenced at Juab, where they suffered only their second loss of the season, 4-1. Juab chucker, McCall Sperry struck out five Broncos and only allowed four hits.

But at the Swing for Life tournament, the Broncos bats came alive once again, outscoring their first four opponents on Friday by the score of 37-1, including three shutouts by Sue’Sue.

The Broncos dumped Duchesne 12-1, routed Rowland Hall, 9-0, halted Hillcrest, 9-0 and mauled Milford, 7-0. The scores of the four games on Saturday were unavailable at press time.

The Broncos close out region play this week hosting Emery before heading to the state tournament next week, May 9-11 in Spanish Fork.

Best baseball betsThe Bucks season finishes with a 2-6 region record and 6-12 overall after a tight doubleheader loss to the Richfield Wildcats, and a Monticello boys upset of the region leading Grand County Red Devils, 10-5, in Monticello Friday.

The Bucks raced five Buckaroos across the plate in the first inning against the Red Devils and lead 6-1 after two innings over the surprised Red Devils and closed them out with a strong performance.

Shane Christensen got the win on the mound and Austin Maloy pounded out three doubles. Austin’s little brother, McKade Maloy, added another double, as did Easton Nielson.

Against the Wildcats from Richfield, Drew Baird doubled and the Bucks scored one run in the sixth and seventh innings but just couldn’t catch the Wildcats, losing 7-6.

In the second game, the Bucks trailed just 3-2 heading into the fifth inning, but the Wildcats pushed across five runs in the fifth to put the game out of reach.

With the losses, the state 2A baseball tournament is out of reach for the Buckaroos, though the Broncos qualified for the tournament with two losses.

The Broncos lost to Grand 10-5, despite Mason Shumway’s triple and Bogh Bayles’ double and to Emery, 6-4, despite a top of the seventh comeback that saw the Broncos push across three runs.

The Broncos enter the tournament at as the third seed and mostly likely will face off against the Gunnison Bulldogs on Friday.

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